The Pacers gave the Cavaliers all they could handle in the first round by pushing Cleveland to a seventh game. LeBron James put on his Superman cape and scored 45 points with 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals in 44 minutes as he carried the Cavs to victory in a tight Game 7.
LeBron planned on playing the entire game, but cramps kept him out for a few minutes at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
"The King" has carried an enormous load throughout the first seven games of Cleveland's playoff run, and it began to show on Sunday afternoon.
LeBron James says he's 'burnt'
James admitted that he's "burnt" after their series against Indiana, and he will have to recover quickly as the Cavaliers travel to Toronto for the first game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Tuesday night. The Raptors are coming off of a competitive first series as well as the eighth-seed Wizards took two games from Toronto in the first round, but the Raptors should have a slight rest advantage over Cleveland.
The Cavs have eliminated the Raptors from the playoffs in two straight postseasons as Toronto has only won two games combined in those series, although it's worth mentioning that Kyle Lowry was injured during last year's matchup.
This year is the Raptors' best chance to knock off Cleveland, but they did not play particularly well down the stretch of the regular season and they showed some vulnerability in the first round against Washington. Also, their two best options for guarding LeBron (Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby) have a combined three years of NBA experience between them.
Matchup problems for the Cavs?
The Cavs also have a matchup problem on their hands as they don't really have anyone that can adequately guard DeMar DeRozan. Victor Oladipo scorched Cleveland in multiple games during their first round series from the shooting guard position, and DeRozan could have some similar success, as he's coming off of a strong first round series of his own.
The weakness of the Cavaliers' supporting cast was exposed against Indiana, especially after Kevin Love was hampered by a left hand injury. I'd expect Love to have a greater impact as he gets healthier in the second round, but Cleveland's third-best player may be 37-year-old Kyle Korver.
The Raptors are undoubtedly the deeper team in this matchup, and their bench got a boost when Fred VanVleet returned from injury in Game 6 against the Wizards. But that depth might not matter if they can't stop LeBron.
The analysis of a LeBron James Eastern Conference playoff series is pretty simple: don't bet against LeBron. I'm picking the Cavaliers to win in six games even though this is LeBron's worst supporting cast since 2009.